‘Missing Child’ hoax a possible scam

Las Cruces Police are asking residents to be wary of a possible scam or phishing attempt that’s circulating through social media and is disguised as a missing person post.

The post circulating Facebook is of a “missing Las Cruces girl” which includes a picture of a smiling young girl. The photo caption leads readers to believe the girl, identified in the link as “Kitty Collins,” was reported missing with the Las Cruces Police Department.

That is not the case. The post is false and no girl by that name has been reported to LCPD as missing.

Police are concerned that the link is an attempt at gathering sensitive personal or financial information which can be used to harm the user. The false like also diminishes attempts at locating individuals who are legitimately reported as missing.

LCPD asks social media users to refrain from ‘sharing’ the post, clicking on the link or providing any personal or financial information on the link.

The Las Cruces Police Department does post legitimate information on missing/endangered persons who are reported to the department and are entered into NCIC, the National Crime Information Center.

Residents are encouraged to visit the Las Cruces Police Department’s social media sites for legitimate news from the department. Residents can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Las Cruces Police Department via the department’s official social media sites: